I AM . . . i am not . . .

I AM . . . i am not . . .

Several weeks ago I shared with you some thoughts from Louie Giglio's
message on Moses'. I was so blessed by the message that I tracked down
his book . . . i am not but I know I AM -- Welcome to the Story of God,
published by our good friends at Multnomah.

As we prepare to worship this morning, I remind you that we are
worshipping the great I AM -- worship is not about you and me -- it is
about HIM. When God called Moses from the burning bush, Moses asked who
he was talking to, to which God responded 'I AM!" Listen to what Louie
says about this great I AM . . .

"In English, the name I AM translates into the very TO BE. Or simply BE.
Therefore, God's name is BE. I AM = I BE. Not great grammar, but
powerful theology. God knew it was imperative for Moses to know who He
was -- that He was I AM. I AM is present tense, active form of the verb
TO BE. As God's name, it declares that He is unchanging, constant,
unending, always present, always God.

God was telling Moses:
I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of Life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM more than enough.
I AM inexhaustible and immeasurable.
I AM God.

In a heartbeat, Moses knew God's name -- and something more. He finally
knew his. For if God's name is I AM, Moses' name must be i am not.

I am not the center of everything.
I am not in control.
I am not the solution.
I am not all-powerful.
I am not calling the shots.
I am not the owner of everything.
I am not the Lord.

And that's your name and mine name too . . .

I am not running anything.
I am not the ahead of anything.
I am not in charge of anything.
I am not the maker.
I am not the savior.
I am not holding it all together.
I am not all-knowing.
I am not God.

And God's name is still I AM."

"We will glorify the KING OF KINGS.
We will glorify the Lamb.
We will glorify the Lord of Lords,
HE IS the great I AM!"

Rejoice in HIM this morning, and for all your days.

HOW BIG IS GOD?

HOW BIG IS GOD?

As you prepare your hearts for worship tomorrow, I share some thoughts
of the bigness of our awesome God from Louie Giglio's powerful book, "i
am not but I know I AM -- Welcome to the Story of God" published by
Multnomah.

Ponder these thoughts with me . . .

"And God said, 'Let there be light!' . . .

"The warmth you feel on your face when you walk outside one a sunny
afternoon is light that left the surface of the sun eight minutes ago.
If you wanted to repeat the 93-million-mile-journey and return to the
sun (not a good idea given that the temperature at the sun's surface is
ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and it would vaporize you long before
your arrival), the trip would take you seventeen years flying nonstop,
twenty-four hours a day, in our fastest jet.

I don't know about you, but a beam of light covering 93 million miles in
eight minutes is pretty hard for me to comprehend. Much less the news
that a team of astrophysicists recently discovered what is believed to
be the farthest object from earth, a tiny galaxy that is 13 billion
light years away.

If you want to put that distance in perspective, consider that a light
year (how far light travels in 365 days) is equal to 5.88 trillion
miles. If it helps, that number again is 5,880,000,000,000 miles. That's
a lot of zeros, and frankly, a number too large to really mean anything
of significance to most of us . . .

The folks at the California Institute of Technology are fairly certain
their newly discovered galaxy is 13,000,000,000 times 5,880,000,000,000
miles away. That qualifies us as the oldest visible light in all
Creation, and the farthest thing from earth our eyes have ever seen.
Actually, since a light year is more about TIME than distance, when we
gaze at this most-distant-yet galaxy, we're looking at light that left
there 13 billion years ago. That means we're actually looking back
across time, deep into the past.

But let's bring things closer to home -- our galactic neighborhood, the
Milky Way. Our cozy little corner of space, the Milky Way Galaxy, is
somewhere between 100,000 and 130,000 light years across. So to get from
one end of our neighborhood to the other, all you have to do is zoom at
186,000 miles per SECOND for 100,000 plus years. Our galaxy is home to
hundred of billions of stars, only one of which is our sun. Our solar
system -- whose star is the sun -- is located about twenty-five thousand
light years from the center of the Milky Way. And just as the planets in
our solar system orbit the sun, so our sun and all the other hundreds of
billions of other stars in the Milky Way orbit around its center -- a
galactic revolution that takes our sun 250 million earth years to
complete.

We have no idea just how big the universe is, but it's so big we have to
use a ruler that's 5.88 trillion miles long to measure stuff. The ruler
is called a light year. The farthest thing we have measured so far with
the help of a mighty telescope is 13 billion light years away. Somewhere
in the midst of it all is a spiral galaxy call the Milky Way, which is
made up of hundreds of billions of stars.

One of those stars is our sun, rotating around the center of the Milky
Way every 250 million years. One of the planets circling our sun is
Planet Earth. And two of the more than six billion people on this planet
are you and me . . . Along with you and me, there are six billion other
human beings dotting this minute ball we call earth, which is orbiting
an average star in a tiny solar system that's hovering on the outskirts
of the Milky Way, one of billions of galaxies in the known universe, the
size of which exponentially expands out latest measurements every time
we manage to build a more powerful telescope . . . "

And the God who created this universe -- created YOU and me, and died
for YOU and ME! As I contemplated Louie's words, I was reminded of one
of the worship songs that Robert and Joyce Hayes have been teaching us:

How Great Is Our God
------Chris Tomlin

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God (x2)

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God (x3)

Sorry for the length of today's Freedom Fighter. I thought it was worth
the "time and space!" God bless you.

HE SPEAKS . . . DO I LISTEN?

HE SPEAKS . . . DO I LISTEN?

I have been reading through the Old Testament this year from the ONE
YEAR BIBLE and have thoroughly enjoyed reviewing stories that I learned
as a kid. One of the things that has stood out is how many time the Lord
spoke to His people and their leaders. I don't know about you, but
sometimes I have found myself saying, "If only I could hear the voice of
the Lord directly on this or that . . . "

For many of us prayer is a one-side proposition. Think about it . . . we
pray and we expect HIM to listen. Sometimes, well maybe more often than
I want to admit, I don't even take the time to fellowship and praise Him
-- I barge right into the throne room with my list of things I expect
Him to do without taking the time to enjoy Him. There are hundreds of
verses in the Psalms that confirm that HE HEARS our prayers: "I love the
Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has
inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I
live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

All through elementary school, I had the same comments written on the
back of my report cards . . . those words have been written on the
hard-drive of my mind . . . "Billy (I hated that name) would be such a
good student if he would just stop talking . . . " Yikes! God wants to
speak to us but often we are too busy to hear Him. Some of my friends
are strong enough to say that God doesn't speak in an audible voice any
more like He did in days gone by. Well don't shoot me -- but that is
probably true. But I do know this -- if He wanted to, He could and
would. I am not about to limit how God desires to deliver what He wants
to say.

For me, He speaks to me through His Word. There have been times during
my prayer times that I have cried out to the Lord. I have the confidence
that HE HEARS me because He tells me that in His Word. And He listens
with BOTH ears! Sometimes when we are finished praying, He wants us to
be still and listen for His voice. Try it sometime -- after you are done
praying, sit still and listen! My dear friend, Marilyn Heavilin has
written a wonderful book entitled, "I'M LISTENING, LORD" that is a good
resource on this subject.

Sometimes during the night when I cannot sleep, I rehearse in my mind
Scriptures that I have memorized. When I do that, often I fall back to
sleep. But every so often, this is the time HE speaks to my heart. The
other night was one of those times when I was wrestling out something in
my soul. I was searching for an answer and praying for instruction. I
did not hear an AUDIBLE voice, but I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to my
heart and clearly gave me the answer I needed! It was cool! He gave me
exactly what I needed to do in a tough situation.

Read through the Psalms and read how God did this for David. In Psalm
16:7 David wrote: "I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed my
mind instructs me in the night." Maybe He chooses to speak to me during
the night because that is when He has MY undivided attention. He wants
to speak to our hearts -- are we ready to listen?

"And He walks with me, and He talks with me; and He tells me I am His
own. And the joy we share as we tarry there -- none other has ever
known."

THOT: "God has no use for the prayers of the people who won't listen to
Him." Proverbs 28:9 (The Message)

PRIDE VS. HUMILITY

PRIDE VS. HUMILITY

One of the greatest hindrances in all of our relationships is pride.
Gary and Betsy Ricucci call it -- "self-confident, self-exalting,
self-protecting pride. It is the most deceptive, pervasive and
multifaceted for form of sin, and it plays a central role in virtually
all sin."

Listen to their description of pride vs.. humility:

Pride loves to talk, reveling in every self-exalting form of
self-expression.
Pride is quite content with what it already knows.
Pride assumes I already understand everything I need to.
Pride assumes I don't need help.
Pride simply judges others by assuming they will respond negatively or
unhelpfully if I am open.
Pride uses conversation as broadcast time.
Pride denies what the gospel reveals about our seriously sinful
condition. (Proverbs 10:19; Galatians 5:17)

Humility yearns to learn, because it recognizes its deficiencies
(Proverbs 12:15).
Humility asks questions and loves dialogue.
Humility has never found someone it couldn't learn something from.
Humility assumes there is always more to learn about everything.
Humility assumes I need others.
Humility would rather be open and vulnerable than closed and
independent.
Humility uses conversations to explore new worlds.
Humility puts energy and effort into listening.
Humility treats a spouse as a fellow traveler on the road to biblical
wisdom.
Humility that leads to intimacy takes an interest in one's spouse as a
gift from God.
Humility believes what the gospel says about our desperate need for God
and his grace -- AFTER we're saved as well as before."

Good thoughts for your consideration from LOVE THAT LASTS . . . WHEN
MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE published by Crossway.

CONTENTMENT

CONTENTMENT

Do you ever find yourself envious of others? Not satisfied with what you
have? Some gets a new car, a newer, bigger TV and the juices of envy and
jealousy begin to flow? Someone's house is bigger and better -- you want
a Jacuzzi because someone else has a brand new pool?

Paul writes in Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak from want; for I have
learned to be content win WHATEVER circumstances I am in." Henry
Blackaby, in his devotional, EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY writes: "Our
world promotes dissatisfaction with our lives. We are constantly
bombarded with newer and better things that will make our lives more
complete if only we would obtain them! If we listen to the world, we
will always be comparing the lifestyles and possessions of others with
our own, and we will always be dissatisfied. If our contentment comes
from possessions, activities, or other people, these can be altered or
removed. If our contentment comes from our relationship with Christ,
there is absolutely NOTHING that can take that away.

Paul had enjoyed power and status among his people. He had also been
imprisoned and bound in stocks in the depths of a jail cell. He had
stood before a king and been stoned almost to death by an angry mob.
Paul had enjoyed the benefits and pleasures of life, yet he could give
them all up and still be filled with the joy of the Lord. His
contentment did not depend on his environment but on his relationship
with Christ.

Contentment frees you to enjoy EVERY good thing God has given you.
Contentment demonstrates your belief that God loves you and has your
best interest in mind. Discontent stems from the sins of ingratitude and
a lack of faith that God loves you enough to provide for all that you
need. Strive to be grateful for all that God has given you. A grateful
heart has no room for envy."

I have shared with you prayers of the puritans. Here is one on
contentment:

Heavenly Father,
If I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty,
make my heart prize Your love,
know it, be constrained by it,
though I be denied all blessings.
It is Your mercy to afflict and try me with wants,
for by these trials I see my sins,
and desire severance from them.
Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations,
if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil,
and be delivered from it with gratitude to You,
acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Your love.
When the Son, Jesus came into my soul
instead of sin, he became more dear to me than sin had formerly
been;
his kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny.
Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued
I must not only labor to overcome it,
but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it,
and he must become to me more than vile lust had been;
that his sweetness, power, life may be there.
Thus I must seek a grace from him contrary to sin,
but must not claim it apart from himself.
When I am afraid of evils to come,
comfort me by showing me
that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,
but IN CHRIST I am reconciled and live;
that in my self I find insufficiency and no rest,
but in Christ there is no satisfaction and peace;
that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good,
but in Christ I have ability to do all things.
from THE VALLEY OF VISION

So how about you? Can you say with Paul this morning: "for I have
learned to be content in WHATEVER circumstances?" That's my prayer for
me and you today.

THE GOSPEL AND MY MARRIAGE

THE GOSPEL AND MY MARRIAGE

Most of us believe the gospel and think that the gospel is for salvation
only. But the truth is that the gospel is on-going in our Christian
experience.

The gospel is for you today! The gospel that saves you is the gospel
that keeps you. It has powerful implications for you TODAY! It can
impact your marriage.

Listen to these marvelous truths as outlined for us in LOVE THAT LASTS
-- WHEN MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE by Gary & Betsy Ricucci:

1. Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creations (2
Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define
us, confine us, or determine our future.

2. Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:17). We can live
free of ALL guilt and condemnation for EVERY sin, and we can trust that
God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.

3. Because of the gospel, we can forgive, just as Christ forgave us
(Ephesians 4:32). NOTHING done against us compares to our sin against
God. Therefore all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between
Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.

4. Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7).
Therefore we are not dependent on a spouse for WHO we are or WHAT we
need.

5. Because of the gospel, sin's ruling power over us is broken (Romans
6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey ALL that God calls us to do in our
marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.

6. Because of the gospel, we have access to God THROUGH Christ (Hebrews
4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to
the ONE who can do all things.

7. Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). There we can
endure ANY marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering with the assurance
that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).

8. Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by His Holy Spirit
(Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with
us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is
imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

9. Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining
sin, which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19, 21, 24-25;
Galatians 5:16-17).

Ricucci's conclude that "when we grasp the depth of God's love for us
revealed in the gospel, when we rest in the joy of God's forgiveness
toward us in the gospel, when we experience God's transforming power in
us through the gospel, and when we begin to emulate the pattern of
humility and obedience we see in the gospel what a wonderful difference
this will make in our lives and marriages!"

Powerful words from LOVE THAT LASTS -- WHEN MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE,
published by Crossway and available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE @
www.americaskeswick.org.

EXPECTANT FAITH

EXPECTANT FAITH

I shared with you last week that we are in one of those tight spots
right now at America's KESWICK with our finances. Over the past 108
years we have been there many times and God has always proven Himself
faithful. Today's reading from STREAMS IN THE DESERT was one of those
"whack-in-the-head" messages to me from the Lord . . . I pray it will
encourage your heart as together we wait on Him EXPECTANTLY . . .

"Faith is being . . . certain of what we do not see." -- Hebrews 11:1

"Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust,
however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the
answer never arrives. There are some letters on my desk that I wrote
weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over
the address or the contents. Those letters have not done any good for me
or anyone else at this point. And they never will accomplish anything
until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.

It is the same with genuine faith. It hands its circumstance over to
God, allowing HIM to work. Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this:
'Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and he will do this.' He
will never work until we COMMIT. Faith is RECEIVING -- or even more,
actually appropriating -- the gifts God offers us. We may believe in
Him, come to Him, commit to Him, and rest in Him, but we will never
fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and
come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating.

Dr. Payson, while still a very young man, once wrote to an elderly
mother who was worried and burdened over the condition of her son. He
wrote:

'You are worrying too much about him. Once you have prayed for him, as
you have done, and committed him to God, you should not continue to be
anxious. God's command, 'Do not be anxious about anything' (Philippians
4:6), is unlimited, and so is the verse, 'Cast ALL your anxiety on Him'
(1 Peter 5:7). If we truly have cast our burdens upon another, can they
continue to pressure us? If we carry them with us FROM the throne of
grace, it is obvious we have not left them there. In my own life I test
my prayers in this way: after committing something to God, if I can come
away, like Hannah did, with no more sadness, pain, or anxiety in my
heart, I see it as proof that I have prayed the prayer of faith. But if
I pray and STILL carry my burden, I conclude that my faith was not
exercised.'" STREAMS IN THE DESERT (Cowman/Zondervan)

So what about you this morning? I shared my burden with you -- today I
leave it at the mercy seat! Is there something weighing you down? A
relationship? A problem? "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and
he will do this!"

Good word for today.

GUYS: Good Mother's Day gift for your wife. Why not send her to our
Spring Ladies Day on Wednesday, May 10th. Annie Chapman is our keynote
speaker. Call today and make reservations for your special lady --
800-453-7942.

This week on KESWICK TODAY, our Guest Services Team talk about the value
of a retreat at America's KESWICK. You can listen to the broadcasts
right from our homepage: www.americaskeswick.org.

MY ALL KNOWING FATHER

MY ALL KNOWING FATHER

One of the grand disconnects of life is that we forget that we have a
Heavenly Father who IS ALL-KNOWING. There is absolutely NOTHING that
your Father doesn't know about you. I did a quick search in my
concordance and pulled out just a few gems for your consideration as you
prepare for the Lord's Day:

"But HE knows the WAY I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth
as gold." -- Job 23:10

"The Lord knows the DAYS of the blameless . . . " -- Psalm 37:18

"Would not God find this out? For He knows the SECRETS of the heart." --
Psalm 44:21

"The Lord knows the THOUGHTS of a man, that they are a mere breath." --
Psalm 94:11

"For I know the PLANS I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for a
welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." --
Jeremiah 29:11

"And God, who knows the HEART . . . " -- Acts 15:8

"The Lord knows the REASONING of the wise . . ." -- I Corinthians 3:20

"Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, 'THE
LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS . . ." -- 2 Timothy 2:19

"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the
unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment." -- 2 Peter 2:9

" . . . for God is greater than our heart, and knows ALL things." -- I
John 3: 20

God KNOWS EVERYTHING about you and me! What an awesome God. Is there
something in your life that you think has gone unnoticed? Keeping you
from true fellowship with your Father? Purpose today to surrender that
to Him. HE ALREADY KNOWS ALL ABOUT IT!

THE GREAT KNOW-IT-ALL

THE GREAT KNOW-IT-ALL

We are pretty excited! Two of my daughters and my daughter-in-law are
all pregnant with my grandbabies. This week, my youngest daughter, Julie
and her husband Garrett, along with my wife Jan, were able to see the
baby growing inside of Julie's womb. We have a little girl -- Emma
Grace. Right now she weighs around 1.5 lbs -- but the picture shows a
developing baby be formed! It is very, very exciting.

As I looked at the pictures from the scan, I couldn't help remember the
words that David penned in Psalm 139 from THE MESSAGE:

"God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I'm an open book
to you; even from a distance, YOU KNOW what I'm thinking.
YOU KNOW when I leave and get back; I'm never out of your sight.
YOU KNOW EVERYTHING I'm going to say before I start the first sentence.
I look behind and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too --
your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too
wonderful -- I can't take it all in!

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your
sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me
in a minute -- you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, 'Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I am
immersed in the light!'
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and
light, they're all the same to you.

Oh yes, YOU shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my
mother's womb.
I thank you, High God -- you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am
marvelously made!
I worship in adoration! What a creation!
YOU KNOW ME INSIDE AND OUT! YOU KNOW EVERY BONE IN MY BODY.
YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I WAS MADE -- BIT BY BIT, how I was sculpted from
nothing into SOMETHING!
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the
stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day!

Your thought -- how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend
them!
I couldn't even begin to count them -- any more than I could count the
sand of the sea."

Lord, thank You that you are the ALL-KNOWING God! Thank You that you are
shaping and forming my three grandbabies! Thank You, that You are also
conforming and transforming the hearts of my Freedom Fighter brothers
and sisters! What an awesome God!

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been posted. http://www.americaskeswick.org/addiction/alumni.shtml

STAND FIRM PART #3

STAND FIRM PART #3

There are so many more lessons to learn from this passage that we have
camped out on the past several days, but here are several more thoughts.
Remember what the Israelites are facing. They have just been set free to
leave Egypt -- 3 million of them! Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his
army after them -- several thousand men with 600 chariots. As the
children of Israel turn back to look, they see this huge army advancing
in on them. Ahead of them is the Red Sea -- bottom line -- they were up
against an impossible wall -- there was only one way out -- to cross the
Red Sea!

Put yourself in THEIR place -- if they did nothing -- they were doomed.
If they moved forward -- well what idiot is going to attempt to walk
across a sea that was fairly deep. Is Moses crazy? I missed giving you
the little phrase that came before our verse, "Stand firm and see the
salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today!" -- It is
the phrase "DO NOT FEAR!"

Charles Swindoll writes profoundly about this event in his new
devotional, GREAT DAYS WITH THE GREAT LIVES -- Daily Insight from Great
Lives of the Bible (published by Word): "Humanly speaking, predicaments
are terrible experiences. If you stay in one long enough, you will begin
to question the very roots of your faith. By and by you'll begin to look
for someone to blame; usually it'll be somebody in leadership. That's
why I am so impressed with Moses' response. He didn't say, as most are
prone to say, 'God helps those who help themselves.' People think that
familiar saying comes from the Bible. It doesn't. It comes from the pit.
No, God helps the HELPLESS.

Note Moses' more biblical response: 'Do not fear!' What strange counsel.
Can't you hear his fellow Israelites? 'Hey, Moses, the Egyptians are
around the corner. They've got chariots and bows and arrows and pointy
spears. And you're saying, 'Don't fear?' What's the matter with you,
man? Do you need a change in your eyeglass prescription? Can't you see
they are coming? Moses replied: 'But I am still saying to you, 'Don't
fear!'

But Moses isn't done. After telling them not to be afraid, he has a
second piece of counsel for his followers: 'Stand still.' And a third:
'Watch.' And a fourth: 'The LORD will fight for you while you keep
silent.'

Now there's a prescription for people in an inescapable predicament!
Don't be afraid, stand still, watch God come through, quit talking! The
hardest for us if the fourth, because we just HAVE to complain or tell
somebody what a predicament we're in. But God doesn't need to be
informed. He KNOWS the predicament. He is simply waiting for us to calm
down and keep silent.

When you are in a cul-de-sac, led by God to that tight place, it is
there you will discover some phenomenal surprises designed JUST FOR YOU.
That's why Moses said, 'Look, let's stand still! There's a great
blessing here for us that we'll miss if we turn tail and run!'

You know the common response to panic? First, we become afraid. Second,
we run! Third, we fight! Fourth, we tell everybody.

God's counsel is just the opposite. Don't be afraid. Stand still. Watch
him work. Keep quiet. It's then that He does His best work on our
behalf. HE takes over! He then handles our predicament opposite the way
we'd do it. The Lord is tapping His foot, waiting for us to wait."

I don't know about you -- but the Lord has certainly been teaching me
this powerful truth this week. God bless you.

GOD'S AMAZING PROMISES

GOD'S AMAZING PROMISES

Yesterday we experienced one of those "God Sightings" -- It was one of those moments where I had to simply stand there and say, "WOW." I write Freedom Fighters each day out from my daily journey with the Lord. I tried doing them ahead of time, but for me, it didn't work.

Diane Hunt, our Director of Women's Ministries and Family Counseling does a Monday - Friday email for women -- Victory Call -- and does hers in advance (she's more organized than me!). So here VC for yesterday was written way before mine . . . Here is what she had written for yesterday's email:

"Exodus 14:13-14, "And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

Lynne's devotional yesterday on Jehovah Nissi -the Lord of our battles reminded me of this verse in Exodus. Can you just imagine the scene? Moses leading a mass of people who, in great fear, realize they are trapped between the Red sea and their approaching enemy. "And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD." Exodus 14:10

The Israelites had limited options. There is no way they could defeat the Egyptians in their own strength. Their only hope was if Someone came to their rescue. That someone was their God. "So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses." Exodus 14:30-31

Do you have a battle that you simply cannot fight, let alone win? Cry out to Jehovah Nissi and "Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today."

Sound familiar? If you didn't read your Freedom Fighter for yesterday, this was the exact same text that I used in my email. Maybe it won't do for you what it did for me, but it was as if God was saying, "How many two-by-fours do I need to use to get your attention?"

Over the years we have faced financial struggles at America's KESWICK. And we have an amazing record of God's faithfulness. Right now we have one of those crisis times where we are waiting on God for HIS amazing supply and provision. This past weekend we were closed and that means we have a loss of revenue of about $28,000. This is a payroll week so we are a bit tight on our finances.

The good news is that these are the times when we have no place to turn but to God -- that He shows up and says "Watch what I can do! All you need to do is trust and obey!" This morning as I was reading the Word through the ONE YEAR BIBLE, the passage was from Joshua 21. Joshua is assigning the land to the tribes and after his task is complete we read this commentary:

"So the Lord gave Israel all the land which HE had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them REST on EVERY SIDE, according to ALL that He had sworn to their fathers, and NO ONE of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. NOT ONE OF THE GOOD PROMISES WHICH THE LORD HAD MADE TO HOUSE OF ISRAEL FAILED; ALL CAME TO PASS." (Joshua 21:43-45)

Are you facing a Red Sea experience? STAND FIRM! CLAIM THE PROMISES OF GOD! HE WILL NOT FAIL! Trust Him today and obey. "STAND STILL, AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD, which HE will accomplish for you TODAY!" I look forward to sharing with you how God WILL provide for our need. A number of you wrote to me to how God is working in your lives. Your notes are a great encouragement to me and the staff.

God bless you.

STAND FIRM

STAND FIRM

I absolutely love the way that God speaks to my heart in my quiet time
with Him. He knows EXACTLY what I need . . . I trust that this
devotional from STREAMS IN THE DESERT will encourage you today.

"Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you
today." (Exodus 14:13)

"This verse contains God's command to me as a believer for those times
when I am confronted with dire circumstances and extraordinary
difficulties. What am I to do when I cannot retreat or go forward and my
way is blocked to the right and to the left?

The Master's word to me is, 'Stand firm.' And the best thing I can do at
these times is to listen only to my Master's word, for others will come
to me with their suggestions and evil advice.

DESPAIR will come, whispering, 'Give up -- lie down and die.' But even
in the worst of times, God would have me be cheerful and courageous,
rejoicing in His love and faithfulness.

COWARDICE will come and say, 'You must retreat to the world's way of
acting. It is too difficult to continue living the part of a Christian.
Abandon your principles.' Yet not matter how much Satan may pressure me
to follow his course, I cannot, for I am a child of God. The Lord's
divine decree has commanded me to go from 'strength to strength' (Psalm
84:7). Therefore I will, and neither death nor hell can turn me from my
course. And if for a season He call me to 'stand firm,' I will
acknowledge it as a time to renew my strength for greater strides in the
future.

IMPATIENCE will come, crying, 'Get up and do something! To 'stand firm'
and wait is sheer idleness.' Why is it I think I MUST be doing something
right now instead of looking to the Lord? He will not only do SOMETHING
-- He will do EVERYTHING!

ARROGANCE will come, boasting, 'If the sea is blocking your way, march
right into it and expect a miracle.' Yet true faith never listens to
arrogance, impatience, cowardice, or despair but only hears God saying,
'Stand firm!' And then it stands as immovable as a rock.

STAND FIRM. I must maintain the posture of one who stands ready for
action, expecting further orders, and cheerfully and patiently awaiting
the Director's voice. It will not be long until God will say to me, as
distinctly as He told Moses to tell the children of Israel, 'MOVE ON!'

In times of uncertainty -- WAIT! If you have ANY doubt -- WAIT, never
forcing yourself into action. If you sense ANY restraint in your spirit,
do not go against it -- WAIT until the way is clear."

Powerful! I needed that word this morning. Maybe you did too. If so, I'd
love to hear from you. Have a great day.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

The mind is a powerful tool. Several weeks ago we had a weekend retreat
and one of our friends suggested on Friday evening that we go out on
Saturday night to Friendly's to get banana splits. Having been on a
"diet" for the past several years, banana splits were not a part of the
program. But guess what -- for the next 24 hours all I thought about was
getting a big delicious banana split with all the toppings.

For years advertisers have used subliminal advertising especially at the
movie theaters. Did you ever notice how they will flash ads about the
popcorn and soda throughout the commercials. Before you know it, people
begin to go back to the concession stand.

When I worked at Sandy Cove, the vending machine area was close to the
Front Desk. One of our maintenance guys loved to put a bag of microwave
popcorn on just as the guests were checking in. You've got it. You can't
escape the smell of hot popcorn. People started thinking about it and
would head to the vending area.

The writer of Proverbs says: "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he .
. ." (Proverbs 23:7) It has been proven over and over that you and I
become what we think. The bottom line is that we become what we think.
What our mind dwells on often becomes reality.

Have you ever had a toothache? The more you think about it, the worse
the pain gets. When I go to the doctor and get a prescription, Jan
always grabs the bag so that I don't get to read the side-effects. If I
think about those side effects . . . well, I would get every one of
them.

When my Mom was diagnosed with a reoccurrence of cancer, her doctor told
her to go home and get her house in order as she only had six months to
live. She went to Cancer Treatment Center of America for a second
opinion and asked the doctor how much time she had. His immediate
response was this: "How the heck do I know . . . there is only One
person who knows that -- God!" He went on to explain to her that
research has proven that when a person is told a time frame when they
are sick, the mind is so powerful that they believe that it is true and
the body is affected, and almost always, the person dies within the time
frame that they have been given. My mother died 5 months and 28 days
later.

The Apostle Paul reminded the church at Philippi that they needed to
guard their thinking. Instead of being anxious about everything, he
encouraged them "through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to
make their requests known to God" which would result them experiencing
God's peace that would guard both their hearts and minds. (Philippians
4:7).

He gave them specific direction to guide their thinking: "Finally,
brethren, whatever is TRUE, whatever is HONORABLE, whatever is PURE,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of GOOD REPUTE, if there is anything
worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on THESE things." (Philippians
4:8)

Someone has said if you THINK you are a failure -- you will be a
failure. If you THINK you are junk -- that is what you will become.
Think about the that area of your life where you struggle with sin, and
before you know it, you are ensnared again. Sin begins in our minds!

Today you need to check out what you are thinking -- maybe today is a
good day for you to memorize Philippians 4:8 and reprogram you mind to
think God's way. Some of us need to start "taking our thoughts captive
to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5b).

So . . . what are you thinking about today? What is occupying your mind?

There is still time for you to take advantage of our special FREEDOM
FIGHTER special for this weekend. Come and enjoy the beauty of God's
creation at America's KESWICK. Call today for information and rates.
Don't wait -- call today -- 800-453-7942.

NO ONE CAN PREVENT YOU . . .

NO ONE CAN PREVENT YOU . . .

The Christian life is an exciting journey. Yes, there are mountaintops
and then their are valleys. I've told you before that I think there are
basically two kinds of people -- some of us see the glass HALF FULL
while others see the glass HALF EMPTY.

I also believe that God loves to WOW His kids with HIS GLORY and POWER
and things that are only explainable by Him.

Several years ago while cutting grass, the Lord had my undivided
attention and began to place a burden on my heart to move forward with a
residential program for women, similar to what we have been doing with
the Colony of Mercy for over 108 years.

The steps leading up to our Board making a decision to move forward were
downright exciting, and God has confirmed our steps in amazing ways. I
have been journaling the story along the way and now have a new chapter
of adventures to write about.

Up until this point we have hit no major obstacles. However, we just hit
our first potential roadblock. We have a 12.5 acre parcel that is
perfect for what we want to do, however, our Keswick properties sit in a
strategic place in terms of the environment. Because we are located in a
biosphere, we are "blessed" with a number of species of snakes, bugs,
flora and grasses that are federally protected. Quite frankly, our
environmentalist friends are more concerned about the endangered blades
of curly grass and pine snakes than they are about the thousands of men
and women whose lives are endangered by addiction.

We received a preliminary report that states that most likely we will
only be able to use 4 acres of the 12.5 and to dispute the report will
cost $60k. I confess to you that my first response was one of
disappointment. But during the past several days as I have dug deeper
into the Word and spent time alone with the Lord, He has reminded me
that HE is in charge of all of this . . .

This morning in my quiet time, the Lord spoke to my heart from Henry
Blackaby's devotional book, EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY (Broadman
Holman). Here is today's reading . . .

"But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained
alive, of the men who went to spy out the land." Numbers 14:38

Blackaby writes: "The decisions and disobedience of others will not
cancel God's will for you. Other people's actions will affect you, but
no one can prevent what God wants to do in and through you. Joshua and
Caleb trusted God and yet were forced to wander in a wilderness for
forty years because of fear and disbelief of others.

Have you ever felt that someone was thwarting God's will for you?
Perhaps someone kept you from getting a job or earning a promotion.
Perhaps the government would approve your application (I can't tell you
how this made me chuckle!) or a committee disagreed with your
recommendations. Do you believe that mere man can stop God from
accomplishing HIS purposes in your life?

God did everything He intended to do in the lives of Joshua and Caleb.
His primary assignment for them had not been to enter the Promised Land
but rather to serve as godly leaders for their people. Joshua and Caleb
could not lead the people if they were in the Promised Land by
themselves while the people were still wandering in the wilderness. God
kept these leaders in a position where they could exert a godly
influence upon their nation, and, as a result, they became models of
spiritual leadership for generations to come.

Even so, GOD ultimately brought Caleb and Joshua into the Promised Land
just as He said. They had been delayed, but not thwarted. Be assured of
this: NO ONE CAN HINDER GOD FROM CARRYING OUT HIS PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE.
ONCE GOD SETS SOMETHING IN MOTION, NO ONE CAN STOP IT (Isaiah 46:11)."

Thank You, Lord, for reminding me this morning that YOU are in charge.
Thank You, for speaking to MY heart. I trust that God's encouragement
for me this morning will encourage you with whatever you are facing in
your life today. I look forward to sharing with you in the future how
God unfolds his plan for our residential women's ministry.

We still have some rooms available this weekend. Come with your family
and enjoy a time of refreshing fellowship at America's KESWICK. Call
today and tell our reservationists that you are a FREEDOM FIGHTER --
800-453-7942.

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES . . .

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES . . .

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter
day on the earth." (Job 19:25)

"Job's life was filled with uncertainty and confusion. Although he did
not understand what God was doing, suddenly his declaration of truth
came like a light in the dark tunnel of his life. "I KNOW that my
Redeemer lives."

Many things happened that he couldn't understand. Doubts filled his
mind. Heartbreaking calamaties robbed him of his peace and joy. Yet his
solid confidence in God carried him through the turbulence of his life.
His assurance was a present reality. 'I KNOW that my Redeemer lives!' It
gave him hope for the future. 'He shall stand at the latter day on the
earth ... In my flesh I WILL see God.' (25-26)

We can have this same confidence today. Jesus said, 'Because I live, you
will live also.' (John 14:19) His crucifixion and burial left His
disciples seemingly without hope. But He came forth a LIVING Savior --
victor over death and the grave.

The angel said to the women who came to the tomb, 'Fear not; for I know
you seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as
He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay' (Matthew 28:5-6). The
resurrection message dispels fear. It brings hope. He IS risen! He IS
alive!

Victory, joy, peace, and praise characterize our Christian faith because
Jesus came forth triumphant over death: 'I am Him that lives, and was
dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore' (Revelation 1:18).

At a rehearsal of Handel's oratorio, MESSIAH, the soprano soloist began
to sing the aria, "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth.' Her technique was
perfect, but something was lacking. The conductor asked, 'DO YOU REALLY
BELIEVE THAT YOUR REDEEMER LIVES?'

She looked surprised. 'Of course I believe it.' "Then sing as if you
believe it,' said the conductor. Again she sang of the resurrected
Redeemer, this time from her innermost being. All who listened were
moved to tears. When she finished, the auditorium was quiet. Finally the
conductor said, 'Yes, you do believe it.'

Jesus Christ is alive! Are you singing today from the depth of your
innermost being, 'I know that MY Redeemer lives?' Do people know you
believe it?" from HE IS REAL -- 365 Daily Devotions by Millie Stamm
(Zondervan).

Have a blessed Easter.

IT IS FINISHED

IT IS FINISHED

One of the the truly amazing last words from the cross is this word that
is packed with meaning and a message that should send your heart
soaring. "Tetelestia" -- It is finished!!! Holy God was satisfied with
the payment for sin! The blood of His Son paid the debt completely --
not partially for our debt -- completely -- once and for all.

Our son Josh was conceived after I had started a new job and our health
insurance had a 3 month waiting period. Our health insurance said that
they would only pay for the doctors portion of the birth so we would be
responsible for the total hospital bill. Back then, the cost was nothing
like it is today, but the bill still hung over us like a weight. We
didn't have a clue how that debt would be covered. All we could do was
commit to making monthly installments to pay off the debt. Most likely
this would take years to pay off the complete debt.

I will never forget this as long as I live -- the day the bill arrived
in the mail our hearts sunk as we saw in writing the enormity of the
debt. A hour later there was a knock at the door and it was the Pastor
of our church. He came in and said, "My understanding is that Josh's
hospital bill arrived today. May I please see the bill." He looked at
the bill, pulled out his pen, and wrote these words across the page --
PAID IN FULL. We don't know who did this -- but the COMPLETE bill was
satisfied by someone who had paid not part of the bill, but the entire
bill. The hospital was completely satisfied.

The "IT" which was nailed to the cross is YOUR SIN AND MINE -- past,
present and future. It was a ONCE AND FOR ALL payment. The Father was
COMPLETELY satisfied. Dr. Erwin Lutzer says in his book CRIES FROM THE
CROSS: "Put your sin the ledger and write "Paid in full" next to it.

* An abortion: Paid in full!
* Fornication: Paid in full!
* Cheating: Paid in full!
* Greed: Paid in full!
*Abandoning responsibility: Paid in
full!
* Criminal behavior: Paid in full!
* Selfishness: Paid in full!
* Lying: Paid in full!

Horatio Spafford penned the words to one of the classic hymns of the
Christian faith, "It Is Well With My Soul." One of my favorite verses of
that hymn in verse 3: "MY sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought! MY
SIN not in PART but the WHOLE -- is nailed to the Cross and I bear it NO
MORE -- Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!"

My friend, YOUR SIN DEBT WAS PAID FOR BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST --
ONCE AND FOR ALL! May this truth fill your heart to overflowing as you
prepare for Resurrection Sunday!

COLONY GRADS: We are looking for pictures for our COLONY GRAD HALL OF
FAME which is now on our website. You can send your pictures to me at:
bwelte@americaskeswick.org.

HALLELUJAH! What a Savior!

HALLELUJAH! What a Savior!

This morning I share with you from Isaiah 53 from THE MESSAGE
(NavPress). As you reflect and meditate today on what HE did for YOU on
the Cross -- He paid a debt that He didn't owe because we had a debt we
couldn't pay -- He did this all for you and me!!!

1 Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought
God's saving power would look like this? 2 The servant grew up before
God - a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was
nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.
3 He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew
pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down
on him, thought he was scum.

4 But the fact is, it was our pains he carried - our
disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it
on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. 5 But it
was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him
- our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his
bruises we get healed. 6 We're all like sheep who've wandered off and
gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has
piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. 7 He
was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken
to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in
silence. 8 Justice miscarried, and he was led off - and did anyone
really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own
welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. 9 They buried him with
the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never
hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.

10 Still, it's what God had in mind all along, to crush him with
pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that
he'd see life come from it - life, life, and more life. And God's plan
will deeply prosper through him. 11 Out of that terrible travail of
soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what
he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous
ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. 12 Therefore I'll
reward him extravagantly - the best of everything, the highest honors -
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he
embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin
of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

Take some time today to get alone with the Lord and tell Him how
much you love Him. Thank Him for dying for You! Hallelujah! what a
Savior.

MY SAVIOR'S LOVE

MY SAVIOR'S LOVE . . . Please don't skip over this because it appears
to be JUST a hymn quoted . . .

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love ME,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! how wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me!

For ME it was in he garden
He prayed, "Not My will, but Thine";
He had no tears for His OWN griefs,
But sweat-drops of blood for mine.

In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for MY soul that night.

He took MY sins and my sorrows,
He made them HIS very own;
He bore the burden to Calvr'y
And suffered and died ALONE . . .

Alone! Alone! Hanging on the cross, listening to the cries and jeers
from the crowd. And yet he cries, "Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do." And then the darkness comes. Horrible darkness. C. J.
Mahaney writes "an atmospheric confirmation of the judgment of God . . .
It's a darkness you can feel. Even the sky reflects what is happening to
the Son of God. Jesus is being made to drink from the cup which He had
asked to be removed. He's being made to experience the full fury of the
wrath of God -- the intense, righteous hatred of God for sin, a wrath
that has been stored up beginning with Adam's sin and extending to all
of your sin and mine, and to all the sin to the end of world history.

The sinless One -- innocent and holy Himself -- is made the object of
that vast and vile immensity of sin. This is His severe test, His
cruelest and most demanding ordeal, a torment far beyond the pain of His
physical suffering . . ."

And He cries from the Cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
"He who for all eternity has never been alone is now wholly abandoned.
Such utter desolation has never existed before in all eternity, because
infinite love and fellowship of the Trinity, which can never be broken.
But now the incarnate Son, must be forsaken by the Father . . . because
the Father is holy, and there in the Father's sight is 'the most
grotesque display of ugliness imaginable.' It's the monstrous sight of
the unbounded totality of human sin resting upon the Son of Man.

Therefore that Man must be utterly removed from the presence of the holy
God, utterly separated, as far as the east is from the west. Jesus
doesn't FEEL forsaken; He IS forsaken. In an unfathomable mystery, at
that moment, as God's wrath is poured upon Him as the substitute for our
sin, Jesus is rejected by God, His Father turns away from Him. It isn't
a deceptive feeling -- it's reality . . .

Why alone? He's alone so that we might never be alone. He cries out to
God so that you and I will NEVER have to make a similar cry. He was cut
off from His Father so that we can boldly say, "Nothing shall separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.' He's forsaken so that we might
be forgiven . . .

God, in abandoning His Son, is treating Jesus as a sinner so that He can
treat you and me -- who ARE sinners -- as if we were righteous -- all
because of JESUS!"

from LIVING THE CROSS-CENTERED LIFE by C. J. Mahaney (Multnomah
Publishers)

Powerful words for you to reflect on as many reflect of the hours before
Good Friday.

IN THE GARDEN

IN THE GARDEN

I have been meditating on the events leading up to the Cross and have
been thinking through what Christ experienced and went through for me.
Jesus had just left a very intimate gathering with the disciples in the
upper room and moves to the garden of Gethsemane. The One who seemed so
confident and comforting in the upper room with his disciples now seems
to come unglued in the garden. He is in agony. His emotions are raw.
Physically and emotionally, He is in upheaval. Why?

C. J. Maheny in his book, LIVING THE CROSS CENTERED LIFE reminds us that
"in this garden, our Savior is beginning to confront as never before the
ultimate and deepest agony of Calvary -- an agony that will go
infinitely BEYOND any physical aspects of suffering. For Jesus, the
Cross will bring incomparable and unprecedented suffering -- not just
physical -- but suffering of wrath and abandonment."

Jesus is laying prostrate on the ground crying out to HIS Father -- the
One with whom He has had fellowship with -- unbroken fellowship with for
all eternity. His cry, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.
Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

Why is he is so much agony? What is it about this cup that troubles him
to the point of sweating drops of blood? Isaiah 51:17 tells us that this
cup in God's extended hand is the "cup of His wrath!" Mahaney says "this
cup contains the full vehemence and fierceness of God's holy wrath
poured out against all sin, and we discover in Scripture that it's
intended for all of sinful humanity to drink. It's your cup and mine . .
. It is filled with 'fire and sulphur and a scorching wind' like some
volcanic firestorm, like all the fury from Mount St. Helens eruption
concentrated within a coffee mug."

"What Jesus recoils from here is not the anticipation of the physical
pain associated with crucifixion. Rather it's a pain infinitely greater
-- the agony of being ABANDONED by His Father." Mahaney shares that one
commentator said Jesus entered the garden "to be with the Father for an
interlude before His betrayal, but found HELL rather than heaven opened
before Him. Knowing the hour for His death is fast approaching, Jesus
has come here in need as never before of HIS Father's comfort and
strength. Instead, hell -- utter separation from God -- is thrust in His
face."

He receives no response ... He is willing to complete the will of His
Father and will drink the WHOLE cup for you and for me. Mahaney reminds
us that "Jesus has every right to turn His tearful eyes towards you and
me and shout, 'This is YOUR cup. You're responsible for this. It's YOUR
sin! YOU drink it!' Instead, Jesus freely takes it HIMSELF ... so that
from the cross He can look down at you and me, whisper our names, and
say, 'I drain this cup for you -- for you who have lived in defiance of
Me, who have hated Me, who have opposed Me. I drink it all for You."
Wow . . .

"O the love that drew salvation's plan -- O the grace the brought it
down to man -- O the mighty gulf that GOD did span -- AT CALVARY!
Contemplate today what HE experienced in the garden of Gethsemane for
YOU and ME!

MY HEART -- CHRIST'S HOME

MY HEART -- CHRIST'S HOME

Years ago when I was a student at Philadelphia College of the Bible (now
Philadelphia Biblical University), we were assigned to read a little
book entitled, MY HEART -- CHRIST'S HOME. While it has been over 30
years that I read this little book, the impact of its message is as
fresh as it was when it was read.

The message of the book is this ... when we invite the crucified Christ
into our lives, He wants EVERY part of us! The word picture is
thought-provoking. Christ wants to come to our "heart-home" and we are
willing to invite him into our living room. He sits there for a while,
then wants to go with us to the dining room and kitchen. Everything is
fine -- until He asks to go upstairs. Now he wants to go into our
bedroom. After inspecting most of our heart-house, He notices a closet.
Looking into your eyes, He says, "Please open the door and let me in
their!"

Most of us have them in our houses or offices. There is some closet or
drawer that we have stuffed to the max. When company or friends come for
a visit, we are willing to let them have access to every area of our
homes, but please -- that closet or drawer is off limits. Is it off
limits to your kids? Your spouse? No one knows but YOU what is hidden in
the closet.

For some of us, there is stuff hidden in an actual physical closet or
drawer. For some it might be pornography -- magazines, videos or other
offensive materials. It may not be in a physical closet -- but it might
be stored on your computer where no one but you can find it. Christ
wants access to that area of your life -- because of His death on the
Cross, He invites you to open that area of your heart to Him.

For others, the closet is in your mind -- You've stuffed all kinds of
"stuff" in there -- lustful thoughts, fantasies, things that you would
be ashamed of if they were to be exposed! Christ wants access to that
area of your life. He wants to free you from the junk that is there. He
wants to work with you to clean out that closet of your mind and bring
healing.

Oswald Chambers said: "the Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in
merely one room of the house -- He invades all of it. And once I decide
that my "old man" should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy
Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in
the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that
important decision about sin, it is easy to "reckon" that I am actually
"dead to sin," because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time
(Romans 6:11) . . . God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I now
belong to a new spiritual order."

If He comes today to do a house inspection or wants to come for a visit
-- will you give him complete access to every area of your heart-home?
Think about it today!

COMPLETE AND EFFECTIVE DECISION ABOUT SIN

COMPLETE AND EFFECTIVE DECISION ABOUT SIN

Serving at America's KESWICK and rubbing shoulders with the men of the
Colony of Mercy has been a very rewarding experience. In listening to
their stories and observing their lives, God has revealed so much to me
about my own heart.

At the heart of the Keswick message is the truth that we do not have to
be dominated by sin in our lives. Why? Because when Christ died on the
cross for you and me, "our old man was crucified with HIM, that the body
of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to
sin." (Romans 6:6)

Oswald Chambers asks the question: "Have you made the following decision
about sin -- that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long
time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision
about sin. It is however, the greatest moment in your life once you
decide that sin must die in you -- not simply restrained, suppressed, or
counteracted, but crucified -- just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of
the world . . .

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important
decision, saying, 'Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that
sin is dead in me.' Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put
to death . . . Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you
until you know what level and nature of sin is in your life -- to see
the very things that struggle against God's Spirit in you? If so, will
you then agree with God's verdict on the nature of sin -- that it should
be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot 'reckon yourselves to
be dead indeed to sin' (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt
with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with
Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is HIS life? 'I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me . . .'" (Galatians 2:20) from MY UTMOST FROM HIS HIGHEST
(Discovery House Publishers)

Is the Spirit of God speaking to you today? Is there an area of your
life where you are experiencing the roller coaster of ups and downs? A
besetting sin that has you living in despair? The cycle of sin was taken
care of at the Cross, my friend. I urge you today to do as Chambers
suggest -- get alone with God and allow Him to speak to your heart and
transform your life. One of the ways you can do that is to get away at a
place like America's KESWICK. We have a special for our Freedom Fighter
family.

Come for a getaway April 21-23, 2006 and enjoy the beauty of God's
creation at America's KESWICK. $49 for one night with three meals or $89
for two nights with six meals. Limited availability, so call today to
make your reservation -- 800-453-7942 exts. 14 or 15. When you call,
please be sure to let our reservationists know you are a FREEDOM FIGHTER
MEMBER.

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

Blessed Lord Jesus,
Before Your cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin,
MY iniquity that caused You to be 'made a curse',
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.
Show me the enormity of my guilt by
the crown of thorns,
the pieced hands and feet,
the bruised body,
the dying cries.
Your blood is the blood of the incarnate God,
its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.
Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a high price.
Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating by faculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
my chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.
Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruit nourish me,
its creatures subserve my ends?
Yet Your compassions yearn over me,
Your heart hastens to my rescue,
Your love endured my curse,
You mercy bore my deserved stripes.
Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation,
bathed in Your blood,
tender of conscience,
triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation. Amen

from THE VALLEY OF VISION -- Prayers of the Puritans published by Banner
of Truth

Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and died for ME!

Hark, how He groans, while nature shakes,
And earth's strong pillars bend!
The temple's veil in sunder breaks;
The solid marbles rend.

'Tis done! the precious ransom paid!
'Receive my soul!' He cries;
See where He bows His sacred head!
He bows His head and dies!

But SOON He'll break death's envious chain,
And in full glory shine;
O Lamb of God was ever pain,
Was ever love, like Thine?

Samuel Wesley (1662-1735)

Good words to ponder on this Lord's day in preparation for the
celebration of Good Friday and Easter.

ALL DIE!

ALL DIE!

As we continue to reflect on the Cross and what Jesus did for us when He
died for us, I share with you a story from C. J. Mahaney's new book,
LIVING THE CROSS CENTERED LIFE -- KEEPING THE GOSPEL THE MAIN THING
(published by Multnomah).

Mahaney writes: "In World War II, Ernest Gordon was a British captive in
a Japanese prison camp by the River Kwai in Burma, where the POWs were
forced to build a 'railroad of death' for transporting Japanese troops
to the battlefront. They were tortured, starved, and worked to the point
of exhaustion. Nearly 16,000 died.

Gordon survived the horrors of that experience and wrote about it in a
monumental work, THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE KWAI, published in 1962 (and
later made into the movie TO END ALL WARS). He described one occasion
when, at the end of a work day, the tools were being counted before the
prisoners returned to their quarters. A guard declared that a shovel was
missing. He began to rant and rave, demanding to know which prisoner had
stolen it.

Working himself into a paranoid fury, he ordered whoever was guilty to
step forward and take his punishment. No one did.

'All died!' the guard shrieked. 'All die!' He cocked his rifle and aimed
at the prisoners. At that moment, one man stepped forward. Standing at
attention he calmly declared, 'I did it!"

The Japanese guard at once clubbed the prisoner to death. As his friends
carried away his lifeless body, the shovels in the tool shed were
recounted -- only to reveal that there was no missing shovel."

Mahaney goes on to say: "Imagine, if you can, the effect upon his fellow
prisoners this man's substitutionary sacrifice for them . . . Unlike
the situation of those prisoners staring into the cocked and loaded gun
of a deranged guard, you and I do not face death from a fellow sinner.
What we face is the righteous threat of furious wrath from a holy God.
THAT is the threat faced by all who have gone astray, by each one who
has turned to his own way. In our case, the shovel is missing; there is
in fact a great deal more that's missing. We are indeed guilty of sin
and deserving punishment.

BUT . . . the innocent ONE, the holy One -- God the Son -- stepped
forward to die for the rest of us. On that Cross the Servant suffered
FOR sinners like you and me, BECAUSE of sinners like you and me -- and
as the SUBSTITUTE for sinners like you and me. He takes the punishment
that you and I richly deserve."

And my friend, HE DID IT ALL FOR YOU and ME! Hallelujah! What a Savior.

"Man of Sorrows!" what name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
IN MY PLACE condemned He stood --
Sealed MY pardon with His blood;
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Guilty, vile and helpless we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
FULL ATONEMENT! can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die,
"It is finished!" was His cry;
Now in heav'n exalted high:
Hallelujah! what a Savior.

When HE comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Savior.

Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876)

Good words to consider today and throughout these days of preparation
for Easter.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR OUR FREEDOM FIGHTER FAMILY -- Come for a getaway April
21-23, 2006 and enjoy the beauty of God's creation at America's KESWICK.
$49 for one night with three meals or $89 for two nights with six meals.
Limited availability, so call today to make your reservation --
800-453-7942 exts. 14 or 15. When you call, please be sure to let our
reservationists know you are a FREEDOM FIGHTER MEMBER.

HE MADE HIM TO BE SIN . . . FOR YOU!

HE MADE HIM TO BE SIN . . . FOR YOU!

"For He made Him who knew NO sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

As we prepare to remember the events of the last days of our Savior
leading up to his death, burial and resurrection, I want to share with
you some thoughts about the Cross during the next several days.

Henry Blackaby, the author of EXPERIENCING GOD, writes that "this verse
from 2 Corinthians, should startle us and cause us to tremble. It is not
a verse to be read quickly and passed over. As Christians we are
grateful to be forgiven of our sins. We are thankful we have been
adopted as God's children. Yet we will never comprehend the awesome
price that Jesus paid to cleanse us of our sin and to give us HIS
righteousness. How abhorrent was it for the sinless Son of God to have
EVERY sin of humanity placed upon Him? What love was required for the
Father to watch His only Son bear the excruciating pain of our sin upon
the Cross?

The prophet Isaiah summarized his human condition: 'We are all like an
unclean thing, and all OUR righteousness's are like filthy rags' (Isaiah
64:6). Even the high priest, Joshua, in his exalted position among God's
people, was clothed in filthy rags before God (Zechariah 3:3). T

The Apostle Paul, who labored arduously to be righteous before God,
realized that his most strenuous efforts to please God were no more
valuable than rubbish (Philippians 3:4-10). The plight of humanity is
that nothing we could ever do could satisfy God's desire for
righteousness. But the miracle of God's mercy is that God exchanges our
'filthy rags' for 'rich robes' of righteousness (Zechariah 3:4).

In this awesome exchange, God placed the sin of humanity upon His
righteous Son. Jesus became so identified with our sin that the
Scriptures says God MADE Him to be sin on our behalf. The holy Son of
God could not possibly do more for us than this! Experiencing the
Father's wrath upon the sin He carried would have been more painful to
endure than any human rejection or physical suffering.

NEVER take the righteousness God has given you for granted. NEVER take
the forgiveness of your sin lightly. IT COST GOD A TERRIBLE PRICE IN
ORDER TO FORGIVE YOU AND MAKE YOU RIGHTEOUS. Walk in a manner worthy of
the righteousness He has given you." from EXPERIENCING GOD DAY-BY-DAY
-- published by our good friends at Broadman Holman.

Good verse to meditate on throughout the day.

THE COLLISION OF GOD AND SIN . . .

THE COLLISION OF GOD AND SIN . . .

Today's reading from the pen of Oswald Chambers was powerful. It is a
good reminder of the purpose of the cross . . .

"The cross of of Christ is the revealed truth of God's judgment on sin.
Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the cross of Christ. It was
the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is
nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than
what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross -- He made it possible for
the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing
relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life;
that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.

The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to
take away sin, not to accomplish something for Himself. The cross is the
central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems
of both.

The cross is not the cross of a man, but the cross of God, and it can
never be fully comprehended through human experience. The cross is God
exhibiting HIS nature. It is the gate through which any individual can
enter oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it
is one where abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is
so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The cross was the place
where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where
the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision
was absorbed by the heart of God." -- from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST by
Oswald Chambers

"When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ, my
God;
All the vain things that charm me most -- I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled
down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Isaac
Watts (1674-1748)

May these words cause you today to reflect on the Cross of Christ, not
just at this Easter season, but throughout the year.

LAYING DOWN THEIR LIVES . . .

LAYING DOWN THEIR LIVES . . .

Have you ever considered how amazing your body is -- the one that God
created? Did you ever stop to think that while you are sitting here
reading today's Freedom Fighter, every cell in your body is doing
exactly what God created it to do? Everything is working with precision:
your heart is beating. Blood is being pumped throughout your body. And
then there is the work of the blood cells that is going on unbeknownst
to you.

Dr. Mark Swenson writes that "the red blood cells [in your body] are
workhorses, but the real heroes swimming through the circulatory system
are the white blood cells and platelets. They die for us. They were born
ready to die.

Platelets are half the size of the red blood cells and survive only a
matter of days. This is why we must continually produce five million new
platelets every second. They are critical for the clotting of the blood,
rushing to the site of injury and heroically throwing their tiny bodies
into the hole.

The white blood cells are no less self-sacrificing. They are a vital
link in our quest for daily survival. Not to be paranoid about it, but
there are billions of microbes continuously seeking to do us harm. This
is why the body must have ready fifty billion white blood cells standing
guard. These are the active duty forces. But in the reserves, hiding in
the bone marrow, we have a backup force one hundred times as large
should the need arise. We ought rightfully to be grateful for this
profound immunologic margin.

The skin and mucosa of the respiratory track are the first line of
defense against microbial attack. Yet should any infectious agents
breech the outer defense, the immune system takes over. Here the white
blood cells is an important player.

Next time you get a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, or inflammation,
remember your body is doing battle on your behalf. Don't be irritated by
the fever or discomfort. Instead just think about the billions of white
blood cells that are dying so that you may live.

These cells have one mission, one purpose: to give their lives in
defense of ours. 'Greater love has no one than this,' Jesus said, 'that
he lay down his life for his friends.' Jesus did it for us; our white
blood cells and platelets do it for us. Why do we doubt His vigilance
when He so faithfully performs it on the microscopic level every day of
our lives? The evidence is overwhelming -- HE SEES, HE CARES, AND HE
DEFENDS!" We are fearfully and wonderfully made! -- from ONE MINUTE OF
MARGIN published by NavPress.

I trust that this truth encourages your heart today!

Attention Colony grads . . . visit our website and see pictures of your
fellow graduates. Go to www.americaskeswick.org and click on the
addiction box. When you get to the addiction page, click other resources
and visit the alumni page. We'd love to have YOUR picture too. You can
email it to me at bwelte@americaskeswick.org.

OBSERVATIONS ON A "WALK BY FAITH" -- How's your attitude?

OBSERVATIONS ON A "WALK BY FAITH" -- How's your attitude?

Many of us have quoted the verse -- "we walk by faith not by sight" --
but do we really understand what we are quoting? Your attitude can
AFFECT your walk. Chuck Swindoll, in his new daily devotional, GREAT
DAYS WITH THE GREAT LIVES . . . DAILY INSIGHT FROM GREAT LIVES OF THE
BIBLE, shares three insights on this "walk of faith" from the life of
Joseph (Genesis 45:10-15).

"If you're under the impression that you are going to be great because
of some accomplishment you've achieved by harboring wrong attitudes,
you're in for a terrible jolt. Greatness comes in the sweet-spirit
attitudes of humility and forgiveness towards others. Joseph sets before
us a magnanimous example. How beautifully forgiving he was, how generous
in his mercy.

It takes God to make the heart right. When I have a wrong attitude, I
look at life HUMANLY. When I have a right attitude, I look at life
DIVINELY. That's the real beauty of Joseph's life. That's the kernel of
truth his life represents. He was great, mainly because of his attitude.

And there are three specific lessons that grow out of that single truth:

1. When I am able, by faith, to see God's plan in my location, my
attitude will be right . . . Not until you can relax and see God in
your PRESENT location will you be useful to Him. A positive theological
attitude will do wonders for your geographical latitude.

2. When I am able, by faith, to sense God's hand in my situation, my
attitude will be right. I don't begin the day be gritting by teeth,
asking, 'Why do I have to stay in this situation?' Instead, I believe
that He made me the way I am and put me where I am to do what He has
planned for me to do.

3. When I am able, by faith, to accept both location and situation as
good, even when there's been evil in the process, my attitude will be
right. When I can say with Joseph, 'but God meant it for good,' then I
become a trophy of grace.

Joseph shows us that the only way to find happiness in the grind of life
is to do so by FAITH. A faith-filled life means all the difference in
how we view everything around us. It affects our attitudes towards
people, toward location, toward situation, toward circumstances, toward
ourselves. Only then do our feet become swift to do what is right.

Good words for your consideration on this 4th day of April.

YOU

YOU

Yesterday I shared some thoughts from a message I heard by Lou Giglio on
a John C. Maxwell tape. The following reading by Amena J. Brown is also
from that CD. It is a powerful expression of praise and thanksgiving for
our great God. I am printing it as it appears in the notes from
Injoy.com:

You
by Amena J. Brown

You find me when I'm hiding behind all my disguises. You see me.
It takes you to keep me breathing. You are heart. Passion. Vision. Word.
Incision. You send me and you bring me close. Close. Close. Closer . . .
Until you look at me you see you. You are heavenly. My present and
future destiny.
You are father. Creator. Sustainer. Life-changer. Pride-breaker. You are
yesterday, today and forever. You are pleasure. Your are worth. Reason.
Present in every season. You are worship. Devotion. You are the reason
for all my commotion.
You are the one that I pray to. You can tell that I'm nothing without
you.
So awesome that I can pray to you about you to know you,
To sense you, to believe you more -- to love you more -- to obey you
more --
to give you more of my heart.

Oh God search me, know me, see me, examine me, test me, love me,
watch me, protect me, show me, investigate me, be pleased with me.
Question me, keep me, change me, have me, correct me, take me,
Help me, create in me, break in on me. Be my reality, sustain me,
Decrease me,
decrease me, decrease me, decrease me, until there is no me left and
Only You! Only You! Only You!

You are light . . . are hope .... are love . . . are strength . . . are
escape . . .
rescue . . . safe. You are peace. You are belief. Your are advance and
retreat --
Of what, to what, to whom can I compare you? You are my all things new.
You are my place of refuge. Your are my fortress -- my rest -- my
creativity in the
strength of your words to me. You are my ability to see, hear, feel,
move, live,
breath, be. You are life and death all at the same time. You are friend.
You are
believer, Savior, Redeemer. You are today, tomorrow, and the next day .
. .
and the next day and the next day and the next day. You are truth. You
transcend old
age and youth. You are timeless, priceless, lightness in darkness,
greatness,
goodness, sinless. And in a mess like my life, you see righteousness.
You leave me speechless. YOU ALONE!

Powerful words to ponder as we begin this new week. Have a great week IN
CHRIST.

I AM

I AM

Good morning! Hopefully you remembered to turn your clocks forward and
you are excited about the day before you. In just a few hours, many of
us will gather together with the body of Christ to worship, and many
will observe the Lord's Supper.

For some, the focus of the morning service has become more about what WE
will get out of the service instead of focusing on WHO we are
worshipping. We get caught up in the style of music not being MY style
or there were too many announcements. The temp was quite right and the
Pastor, well we love him, but he went way too long.

Remember my friend, the body of Christ gathers not to concentrate on YOU
but on the One who told Moses I AM! I have been listening to a powerful
message given by Pastor Louie Giglio from an INJOY LIFE CLUB CD
available through Dr. John C. Maxwell's ministry. Think about the I AM
who you are worshipping this morning . . .

You say, 'I need an new idea.' I AM.
Who could possibly be smart enough to figure this out? I AM.
I'm going under; somebody help me. I AM.
What works? I AM.
What's the latest thing? I AM.
What's the hippest thing? I AM.
Nothing's real anymore. I AM.
Leaders are bailing out. Who's going to last? I AM.
If we fail to get the job done, who's going to do it? I AM.
This generation deserves more. I AM.
I'm pouring into others. Who pouring into me? I AM.
I'm not sure who's on my team. I AM.
Nobody's listening to me. I AM.
I can't hold it together anymore. I AM.
Who can I trust? I AM.
I've got visions bigger than my resources. I AM.
I've given all I can but it's never enough. I AM.
Somebody just hold me. I AM.

I AM the way, I AM the truth, I AM the life. I AM yesterday, I AM the
same today, I AM the same forever. I AM the solution, I AM the
sustainer, I AM the restorer, I AM the life-giver. I AM the beginning, I
AM the end, I AM the first, I AM the last; I AM God, and there is NO ONE
BESIDES ME. I AM the Lord, and there is NO other. I AM that I AM; that
is My name; that is MY memorial name to every generation. I AM GOD . . .
And all I AM looking for is a little man who's thrilled to be I AM NOT,
because they know I AM!

That's who you are worshipping this morning, my fellow Freedom Fighter
partner -- you are worshipping the great I AM. Enjoy Him today.

THE GREAT GOD

THE GREAT GOD

As you prepare your heart for the Lord's Day tomorrow, here is a Puritan
Prayer from THE VALLEY OF VISION:

O Fountain of All Good,
Destroy in me every lofty lofty,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up His abode in me,
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in His touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,
inhabit me, a temple consecrated to your glory.
When You are present, evil cannot abide;
In Your fellowship is fullness of joy.
Beneath Your smile is peace of conscience,
By Your side no fears disturb,
no apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With You my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, through repentance, for You indwelling.
Nothing exceeds Your power,
Nothing is too great for You to do,
Nothing too good for You to give.
Infinite is Your might, boundless Your love, limitless Your grace,
glorious Your saving name.
Let angels sing for SINNERS REPENTING, PRODIGALS RESTORED, BACKSLIDERS
RECLAIMED, SATAN'S CAPTIVES RELEASED, BLIND EYES OPENED, BROKEN HEARTS
BOUND UP, THE DESPONDENT CHEERED, THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS STRIPPED, THE
IGNORANT ENLIGHTENED, AND THE SAINTS BUILT UP IN THEIR HOLY FAITH.
I ask great things this morning of a GREAT GOD!

Good words to consider as we prepare to worship Him with brothers and
sisters of like-minded faith tomorrow. Have a great day.